News

With all the mudslinging and controversy surrounding this election, it may feel like it doesn’t matter whoyou vote for. But when it comes to energy policies, not all candidates are created equal.

The energy policies proposed by the current presidential candidates can have a long-lasting impact on your life and the environment. Your electric and gas costs are influenced by the president’s decisions and views, so it’s important to understand what the candidates have in mind if they take office.

The solar industry is growing and does not seem to be slowing down! Americans are aware that renewable energy hosts a long list of environmental benefits but solar energy is now more than ever a driving force in job creation in the United States. As unemployment falls to the lowest it’s been since 2007, Americans can look to the solar industry for a booming job market.

Representatives of four companies who are active in the US solar residential rooftop market had a wide-ranging discussion at a conference hosted by Solar Media in New York in late October 2015 about the different business models in use in that market and how each will fare if the 30% federal tax credit for solar is not extended past 2016. The conversation covered current installation costs, typical capital stacks, the cost of capital, barriers to entry and the potential for margin compression.

The panelists are Sylvain Mansier, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Sungage Financial, Albert Lu, vice president for structured finance and strategy at SolarCity, Jason Cavaliere, vice president for project finance at Sunrun, and Chris Hale, president of SunBlue Energy. The moderator is Keith Martin with Chadbourne in Washington.Read More